While these stories garner much of our attention, the issue of mental health isn't always such a dramatic or media-saturated event. After a decade of war, more American vets are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – not a new diagnosis, but a better understanding of something which has been seen in combat-weary soldiers since at least the First World War. Substance abuse and other forms of addiction put people in harms way every day.

These statistics show varying degrees of affliction, from severe and debilitating cases to milder ones. But what this prevalence means is that most likely a few people you know are seeing a professional or on medication for a mental illness or could be helped by a professional if they sought someone.

People seem to forget that the brain is an organ, just like the heart or lungs, and taking care of the brain is just as necessary. For a segment of the population with mental health issues, psychotherapy can be enough – no pills, no side effects – and the added benefit of better knowing themselves.

But there remains a stigma around seeking mental illness. It didn't help that mental illness was originally treated through what can only be described as barbaric methods – electroshock therapy being among the most notorious – but pharmacology and the growth and progress of psychotherapy has made treatment – and outcomes – a more accessible journey for many. I won't say less painful, because deep psychotherapy can be emotionally difficult and mentally draining. And for some people this is still difficult.

The stigma exists, and more so in the population most in need, hindering the help they need. A CDC report found that 57% of adults believe that people are caring and sympathetic to persons with mental health – an unfortunately low number – but among people afflicted by mental illness, only 25% of them believed people are caring and sympathetic to people with a mental health issue.

Psychotherapy has matured since its beginnings and is much more focused on building relationships with clients – something that requires respect and empathy – to help bring about the change clients are seeking.

Improving the mental health treatment experience got a federal jolt in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy called on Congress to help improve diagnosis, treatment, education and recovery for those afflicted. It was a bold request, but fell by the wayside as states cut funding and services as the decades wore on and the issue got forgotten about. The Affordable Care Act, signed by President Obama in 2012, expands coverage of mental health services to match that of other physical ailments.

The option of health insurance covering psychotherapy may mean putting the costs of mental health within reach for millions more people, another attack on the stigma of mental health, especially since some of the more debilitating diagnoses - schizophrenia, bipolar and personality disorders - tend to hit during the early 20s, when young adults are going through college, beginning a new career and starting to make a life for themselves.

Take a moment this month and make an effort to fight the stigma of mental illness and help a friend do the same.